Does anyone else miss a pop up flash on the 5Dmk2?

<p>I'm currently dithering between a 7D and a 5D mk2. I like wide angle lenses for landscapes and a big viewfinder (I have dodgy eyes), and not being interested in sports or wildlife I tend towards the 5D. You might think me odd but the aspect of the 5D that holds me back from it is that it doesn't have a pop up flash. As this camera will also be used for 'holiday snaps' I really appreciate some form of fill flash. It seems a pain to carry a hefty flash unit just for such shots. I guess the main response will be to get the 7D, but I'm not that keen on having to get another wide angle lens that cannot be used on a full frame body (I will also keep shooting and printing B+W, so would like to share lenses).<br>

So, are there any small size flash options available and does anyone else bemoan the absence of pop up flash?</p>

<p>Canon 270Ex. Small, light, decent. Great for snapshots. I use it often on the 5D. About $149 (was $129 but rebate is now over). Tilts for bounce flash unlike some of the other models.</p>

<p>Yes, I do miss it. Sure a popup sucks for AF assist and is weak, but it works fine for fill flash, emergencies and as a trigger. However I mainly use my 5D for landscapes and low light so it's not a deal breaker. I carry a 220EX loaded with lithium AAs as a popup sub. It's small enough to fit in a coat pocket and the lithiums weight half that of alkalines. The 270EX replaced it last year and is just as small, twists and turns but uses a disco pulse instead of the near IR AF assist of the 220EX.</p>

<p>Pop-up flashes can't see around lenses -- they cast horrible shadows from the lens. So no. Popup flashes are as useful as the human appendix. I hate them. Yes I do.</p>

<p>I don't miss the pop up flash at all. I don't like how the pop up flash only points to the front. I rather use an external flash with a tilt head to bound the flash off walls and ceiling.</p>

<p>Oh... I forgot that on the 7D, you can use the pop up flash for remote trigger other slave flashes using ETTL... This function allows you to turn the power of the pop up flash to the point where it doesn't affect the exposure. This is one functionality I would like to have on the 5D. One downside to this remote trigger is that you need direct line of sight with your slave flashes. RF trigger is better for this.</p>

<p>> Does anyone else miss a pop up flash on the 5D?</p>

<p>I'm sure some do, but I don't.</p>

<p>No. Didn't even use it on the Rebel XT. Shoe mounted flash is the way to go for clearance from certain lenses.</p>

<p>I picked up a 270 during the rebates as well. Its nice and small and is much better then the pop up flash but I really only use it when I travel. </p>

<p>You give some, you get some ... without a popup flash, the 5D and 5D Mk II allow unrestricted use of the Canon TS-E lenses. Probably of little interest to most photographers, but important for those who use any of these lenses.</p>

<p>I have the 7D and have used the pop-up flash to control my 430 EX II.<br>

But when I want on the camera flash I use the 430.. I have never been that happy with the results of the pop-up flash. Perhaps I haven't learned how to use it.. but for me it seems to be great at red eye and not much else....</p>

<p>The funny thing is that my Hasselblad H2's have one! Before I started shooting digital, I bought a entry level--Rebel XT-- DSLR for sending images to my art director when I was on the road and he wasn't there with us. It had a pop up flash which came in handy in certain situations--I don't use flash for personal work and haven't had an on-camera flash in over 20 years--and I liked just having it, the pop-up, even if I didn't use it very often--I like options. My current digital doesn't have one and I do miss it at times, but not enough to not want to keep it and the FF format.</p>

<p>I carry around the big flash when I go off somewhere and have yet to use it--guess I don't miss the pop up that much!</p>

<p>Previously . . . on the EOS 5D: <a href="http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00QGgo">http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00QGgo</a><br>

WW</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I don't miss the pop up flash at all. I don't like how the pop up flash only points to the front. I rather use an external flash with a tilt head to bound the flash off walls and ceiling.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Now that's funny! I've always thought of the 5D series as a landscape and macro specialist so it didn't even occur to anyone would actually use it where there was a ceiling or wall. Well, maybe the nearest mountain might work. But, yeah, indoor shooters like wedding buffs have ceilings albeit you need a friggen potato masher on bracket to bounce off your typical ballroom or church ceiling.</p>

<p>No, pop up flash is a sucker punch! Don't fall for it. A standard zoom like the 17-55 is big enough to cast a shadow, even with the hood off. What a disappointment. I routinely use Lightroom with my 5D2 to brighten shadows and don't miss fill flash much. When I do shoot with flash, I'm glad to have the power and directional control of the 580, and I bounce off of a wall to get the look of window illumination--nice.</p>

<p>I do not miss a flash. I am glad that Canon spent the money more wisely, on a great sensor. The flash on my D700 was a persistent nuisance that always made me laugh when it popped up. I would have ripped it off the camera if that would have worked. </p>

<p>Not much to be said - it doesn't have a flash and it won't. Either get a small external flash or if you really need built-in flash get a different body that has it.</p>

<p>I do , And I wish that all full frame have pop up flash, I just saw an elan7 on ebay, And wished that digital fullframe have popup flash like the ones in elan 7.</p>

I don't miss it. I often deliberately use my 5D2 sans flash because I find it's high ISO performance that good. 5D2+24-105 is my default walkaround kit nowadays...

<p>A popup flash with wireless control of speedlites (like the 7D has) would be very useful on a 5D MkII.</p>

<p>Though I don't use popup flash a lot with my 40D, I do use it at times and it would be handy to have on my 5D too. An external speedlite is better of course, but it's no good if you forget to bring it along. That never happens with the built in flash!</p>

<p>Yes, I miss it. I use the 5D2 for everything including quick snapshots of the kids around the home. At times like that I wish I had a pop-up flash instead of fighting with the 580EX for the sake of a quick snap.</p>

<p>More importantly, SLRs with pop up flashes always have some sort of built in AF assist function whether it be infra red or strobe. AF assist is a definite bonus that I miss. Now I'm stuck to either mounting the 580EX or the ST-E2 to aid the AF in low light.</p>

<blockquote>

<p> A standard zoom like the 17-55 is big enough to cast a shadow, even with the hood off. What a disappointment. I routinely use Lightroom with my 5D2 to brighten shadows and don't miss fill flash much. </p>

</blockquote>

<p>I presume you mean the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM? If you make the mount modification to adapt this lens you'll find the image circle too small to cover the entire 5DII frame. In such case shadow casting shouldn't be a problem. However, I have used the EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS USM extensively on my 7D and there are no problems with shadows from the popup at any focal length (hood off of course). It did vignette on my 20D at 17mm at 2 meters but was fine a little further out or slightly zoomed.</p>

<p>Canon, give me a damn popup on mah friggen 5DIII!</p>

<p>Hi Julian, thanks for the thread. Always interesting to see what everyone thinks. Of course, they are just opinions and you already said for yourself, that you would really miss the popup flash.<br />Let me try and help you with your decision. I recently own a 7D and the popup flash is another of the many features that I've been impressed with. It is not bad on the 40D either, but the 7D does a very nice job of being present without blowouts or even that little too much whitish on the photo. The white balance on the 7D has also improved imo. So if you think you'd miss the popup, I'd say you're right and go for the 7D. Like you, I too use my DSLR for snapshots, which is bad enough already but putting my 430EX on it all the time, is very undesireable. The 10-22 is a very capable lens, albeit EF-S. The new 15-85 is handy for both wide- and snap-shots. Good luck!</p>

<p>The 270EX works great on 5D2. Its flash power is changed on the camera as easily as ISO and focus mode etc are changed. I primarily use the 5D2 indoors (not for landscape) and the 270EX is so light that it's on the camera almost anytime a full-size flash is not. The little 270 isn't as handy or compact as a built-in flash, but I'll take it until the 5D Mark 3, which I expect will have a built-in flash.</p>

<p>Coming from an F-1, EOS-1, EOS-3, and finally EOS-1V, I had always regarded a built-in flash as a bit naff. When I bought my first digital body, a 20D, I was accordingly rather embarrassed to discover that the built-in flash had its uses. Many film bodies came with built-in flash, so there's no fundamental problem about combining it with FF (as demonstrated also by the Nikon D700), although it is true to say that Canon film bodies with flash had significantly less than 100% finder coverage, and a future 5D with flash might have to be a bit bulkier than a 7D. Of course, built-in flash has its drawbacks, as pointed out by other posters – shading by the lens and conflict, or at least awkwardness, with TS lenses and tripod rings are among them. But hey, nothing's perfect, and the flash built in to the camera is definitely better than the all-singing all-dancing flashgun that you find you haven't got with you. I can live without it on my 5DII, but I wouldn't mind having it.</p>

<p>Onviously the 270EX (or its predecessor the 220EX) is an alternative, and is considerably more powerful than any built-in flash. The 270EX sounds great apart from one thing, which is the retrograde step of pulsing the flash tube to provide AF-assist. But I think Canon are missing a trick here. Why not add a couple of power contacts to the hotshoe and offer a batteryless flash?</p>